Amitav Ghosh, Uncanny & Improbable Events, Book Recommendation / Call for Submissions to COTW

Is it not true that the whole media landscape as well as the whole publishing landscape and arts landscape should be pervaded by the climate crisis, and the meta crisis of political economy and civilisation of which the climate crisis is a symptom? In ‘Uncanny & Improbable Events’ Amitav Ghosh does a good job of explaining some of the reasons why the climate crisis is not being sufficiently addressed in the field of literature, not least of them being that the crisis seems too improbable, too unlikely in its specific instances, to feature in any literary fiction –that is, unless you are an extraordinarily gifted author able to communicate the total effects of events as horrific as, for instance, the recent floodings and deaths in Libya, when two dams broke in quick succession.

Here at the Centre of the Web, we intend to raise up and spread widely all literature that deals with the climate crisis. We will do this with the help of the growing YouTube platform Epic Tomorrows. All ideas are welcome, especially with a literary focus on the decentralisation of political power globally, in order to meet the climate crisis head on. Authoritarianism fails us. Capitalism fails us. In the end we will have only ourselves, our neighbours and our localities to save us, and if we’re lucky, the internet: let us use this precious resource while we are still able.

Please spread the word about Centre of The Web. We are currently open to submissions of all kinds (excluding poetry, unless you are extraordinarily gifted).